BOJ Board's Inflation Target Skepticism Grows

TOKYO—Skepticism among the Bank of Japan's policy board over whether the central bank can achieve its ambitious inflation target is growing, although the level of disagreement over its bullish economic outlook wasn't strong enough to make the nine-member board change its closely watched semiannual report.

While the report was endorsed by a majority vote on Thursday, three board members dissented, arguing either that its projection on prices was overly optimistic or that it should more clearly lay out the risks facing the Japanese...